Syrian rebels say they'll talk

Sunday

Feb 3, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 3, 2013 at 4:23 PM

MUNICH, Germany - The Syrian opposition leader met Russia's foreign minister in Germany yesterday and said he would also hold talks with the Iranian foreign minister, opening a window to a possible breakthrough in efforts to broker an end to Syria's civil war.

MUNICH, Germany - The Syrian opposition leader met Russia's foreign minister in Germany yesterday and said he would also hold talks with the Iranian foreign minister, opening a window to a possible breakthrough in efforts to broker an end to Syria's civil war.

Russia and Iran have been the staunchest allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad throughout an armed uprising against his rule, and any understandings they might reach with Assad's foes could help overcome the two sides' refusal to negotiate.

At an international security conference in Munich, Syrian National Coalition leader Moaz Alkhatib had talks with Russia's Sergei Lavrov.

He also met separately with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.N. special envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi.

"Russia has a certain vision but we welcome negotiations to alleviate the crisis and there are lots of details that need to be discussed," Alkhatib said after the meeting.

The Syrian opposition leader said he would also meet Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who was attending the Munich security conference, yesterday or today.

His purpose in meeting Salehi and the U.S. and Russian officials was "to discuss finding a way to remove the regime with the least possible bloodshed and loss of life," he said.

Russia has blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at pushing out Assad out or pressuring him to end the civil war, in which more than 60,000 people have died. But Moscow has also said it will not prop up Assad or offer him asylum.

"The talks about Syria are intensifying and the Iranians have been drawn in. Let's see how it all ends," one diplomatic source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Alkhatib put his authority within the opposition movement at risk earlier this week when he broke ranks to say he would be willing to meet Syrian officials to discuss a transition if political prisoners arrested during the uprising were freed.

The opposition coalition's 12-member politburo then told Alkhatib not to respond to any proposals made in Munich without consulting with them first.

Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Alkhatib's apparent readiness to meet Assad envoys, calling him "not only courageous but smart".

She also voiced concern that Iran had recently increased military support for Assad.

While some headway was apparently being made in Munich, Iranian media said that Saeed Jalili of Iran's Supreme National Security Council had travelled to Damascus to meet officials and help Assad "stand against plots hatched by global arrogance" - an allusion to the United States and other Western powers.

A comment by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev this week that Assad's chances of staying in power were getting "smaller and smaller" was regarded in some quarters as a sign of a shift in the Kremlin's Syria policy.

Biden said he had urged Alkhatib "to isolate extremist elements within the broader opposition and to reach out to, and be inclusive of, a broad range of communities inside Syria, including Alawites, Christians and Kurds".